We walked around St. Jacob's Church and looked at its Romanesque towers one last time and reluctantly made our way to the local train station so we could go back to Amsterdam. After being up late last night packing and getting ready we were both really tired. At least this time we were prepared for how the train systems work for commuters. My past experiences with European rail have all involved direct connections. Therefore, changing trains two times to go a distance that could be covered in a couple of hours has been a challenge. Today we went through Antwerp Central Station, a very beautiful building and one of the last of its era still standing in Antwerp.
We arrived in Amsterdam without any real plans so we paid to store our luggage at the train station while we killed a couple of hours in the city. Our first impression was one of confusion and feeling overwhelmed. After the quiet and slow pace of Ghent, coming to a city that has a population over 850,000 made us have a sensory overload. We crossed the canal by the central train station and headed to Dam Square, which was strangely barricaded. The royal palace was surrounded by gates and police. I assumed it was leftover from last week's King's Day celebrations since they were allowing people to duck under some of the barrier tape.
We wandered along some of the streets in the Jordaan neighborhood. We also walked by the Anne Frank House just to get an idea of how things would work on Sunday during our scheduled visit.
I will admit that some more chocolate shopping and sampling happened. I had a delicious afternoon hot chocolate break too.
When it was time to check in at the flat we've rented for several days we had to return to Amsterdam Central Station and collect our luggage (huge bummer). During check-in one of our hosts mentioned that if we needed groceries we had best get them soon because since May 5th is Remembrance Day for The Netherlands, shops would be closing at 7 pm and then at 8 pm there would be a nationwide moment of silence.
No problem. We were in need of a break so after a quick trip around the corner we basically had a dinner of sausage, cheese, and bread with some of the chocolates Hans bought and then got into the beer we picked up in Ghent yesterday. We watched the live broadcast of the Royal Family and selected individuals laying wreaths at the National Monument in Dam Square before going to bed.
Tot ziens!
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